Boggo Road Gaol
| Location | Brisbane, Queensland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | -27.4951, 153.0284 |
| Access | Public - guided tours, ticketed; the surviving No. 2 Division only |
Boggo Road Gaol opened in 1883 as Brisbane Gaol, built on the southern edge of a growing city. Its No. 1 Division held prisoners on remand and those serving shorter sentences; a separate women’s prison opened on the site in 1903. Later reorganizations created additional divisions, including No. 2, which housed people serving long sentences. The red-brick walls and guard tower became a familiar part of Brisbane’s skyline.
The site is associated with executions. State Library of Queensland records that 42 people were hanged at Boggo Road between 1883 and 1913, including Ellen Thompson, the only woman legally executed in Queensland, and Ernest Austin, the last person hanged in the state. Queensland abolished capital punishment in 1922. These names belong to a real penal history and should not be reduced to a spectacle for ghost tours.
The rest of this file is sealed. 3 more sections: what happened next, what people still report, and how to visit.
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